Bulgaria February 2020: Reexports lift Nissan back up to #1 in market down -17.9%

1 in every 4 Nissans sold in Bulgaria is reexported to other EU markets.

The Bulgarian new car market continues to freefall in February at -17.9% year-on-year to just 2.575 registrations, pulling the market down -16.5% to 5.494. This particularly severe correction can in fact be traced to a somewhat healthier market: new official figures show that only 6% of 2020 sales are reexports, a future that was estimated to be up to 20% in previous years. Reexports are Bulgarian registrations that are cancelled within the first 6 months and on-sold in other European Union countries because of lower prices in Bulgaria. Although the brands ranking is completely reshuffled again this month, some underlying trends we started picking in January are still there. Quite strikingly, in February only 26 sales separate the #1 brand Nissan from #5 Volkswagen with all Top 5 carmakers holding between 9.9% and 10.9% share, an unusually slim spread. If Nissan (+290.3%) returns to #1 for the third time in the past 5 months, it’s still getting its edge from re-exports: and now we have the official reexport figures to confirm our suspicions: so far in 2020, a whopping 24.6% of all Nissan regiatrstions have been cancelled (read reexported) and without them the Japanese brand would rank #6 this month.

Dacia (-33.3%), the traditional lead in Bulgaria, is up 3 spots on January to climb back to #2 despite a steep dive which is partly due to the absence of reexports in 2020 vs. 2019: only 0.6% of its registrations this year. Toyota (+12.2%) is in outstanding shape for similar reasons than in the rest of the European Union: it is now unleashing its hybrid lineup in a stricter EU emissions context. According to BSCB’s contact on the ground in Bulgaria, Ivan, Skoda (-6.6%) remains dominant YTD at 11% no thanks to reexports (4% of its volume) but rather its new SUV offer, a segment that Bulgarian buyers are now cottoning on to. BMW (+16%), Volkswagen (+12.3%) and Peugeot (+3.2%) all post healthy gains with almost no reexports (0%, 6% and 0.6% respectively). Fiat (36.3%) and Citroen (28.1%) are the most significant reexporters in Bulgaria so far in 2020.

Previous month: Bulgaria January 2020: Skoda and Toyota take control in market sinking -15.3%

One year ago: Bulgaria February 2019: Dacia (+35.2%) holds onto top spot in market edging up

Full February 2020 Top 40 All-brands ranking below.